Desirable Fruits!

The week went by too fast! Wednesday we had a visit from President Cook! And Saturday we had stake conference. And also on Saturday Jo set a baptismal date! Lots of good things happened this week!

One thing that put my heart at rest was what President Cook was teaching. Everything he was saying was another testimony to what I have felt is right, to what Brother Vargas had said and to everything I have been learning. Another interesting thing was what happened once I fully submitted myself to the mission defined standards.

Some of you might not know this but in the England London Mission we have an additional set of standards to compliment the ones the church has put out. I had a difficult time with these because they were very constraining. But I found out that one of the people who were responsible for the creation of these was my current companion  *wow*. When I found this it I decided that I really wanted to sustain him, so for 3 weeks I was completely obedient to each and everyone, I studied and applied. But after the three weeks we got a notification saying that the standards have been updated and a lot of the direct rules are gone. It was almost as if God was telling me, "I don't care what you are actually doing but I care that you love me enough to be obedient." I feel really grateful that I had that change of heart that let me see some of the fruits of this obedience :)

God works in mysterious ways. About 2 and a half months ago I started practicing português and I still am not very good at it but I met a ward member in Kingston who is still teaching me.  I got to the point where I can set up lessons on my own. Once that happened we started getting three português referrals about every two days and I was so excited! Now the referrals have calmed back down but just by attempting to follow the spirit, God multiplied my efforts. Once again I was able to partake of another fruit, the fruit of diligence.

And now back to Jo, Jo is super cool. He was being taught for a while before I got to the area and I wasn't going to jump in and offer him a baptismal date so I just started to get to know him. And would you know it he also loves combat sports so we clicked really fast. We met up at the park and just basically had another recent convert and Jo teach the plan of salvation to another friend we are teaching. And at the end I interrupted and said, "Jo I want you to pray for a baptismal date and I'll call you this weekend and we will pray together and set it" Had I not taken the time to get to know and understand Jo, that invitation may not have carried as much meaning. But he did pray. I did pray. And then my companion and I prayed. Then all three of us prayed together. And we landed on May 31st!! That is the last fruit I want to highlight this week. The fruit of connecting!

When we partake of desirable fruit we want to share it. That's the entire tree of life and Alma 36. So these are the fruits I tasted and I liked them. So thank you for letting me share them :)

Love you all

Elder Hixon 

Friends!

Another week has flown by!! There’s so much on my mind that I’m not sure I can even type out an email—but let’s see :)

This week started off really well. Thank you to everyone who reached out about last week's email. You brought some joy my way.

I've been thinking a lot about the changing of the word “investigator” to “friend.” When I “make” a new friend, am I really making one? Do I truly care about this person? Do they know that I care? And do I actually know them? This week, I can honestly say the answer is 100% yes. I’ve made so many friends, and it makes me so happy. These are people I would truly be sad to leave—just like it was in Kingston. And to me, that means I’m doing the Lord's work. I’ve made real connections and brought people closer to Him—not always through words, but through love.

In Preach My Gospel, there’s an incredible promise: if we’re feeling the Spirit, the people we’re teaching are feeling it too. That gives me so much comfort and motivation.

I don’t want these emails to turn into just a list of “what I learned this week,” but maybe they’ve always been that, haha. But just know—if my biggest “hangovers” are other people’s challenges and the doctrine of missionary work, I’m think I'm doing alright. Life is good here :)

One thing I’ve noticed on my mission is how much my empathy is growing. This week I listened to a member share the story of their home country, which is still fighting for freedom and often experiences terrorist attacks—both for religious and societal reasons. It made me genuinely sad. Honestly, a little angry. It got me thinking about what service for my country might look like someday—but that’s next year's problem for Cal :)

For now, that friend and I have decided to fast together for his country this Sunday. And anytime he fasts in the future, he’ll shoot me a text and I’ll join him. That kind of connection is one of the many powerful and heartbreaking stories you hear here in London. I am learning how much I love these people.

Because of the incredible immigration in this city, London doesn’t always feel like “England”—and frankly, I quite like it. For a few hours at a time, it feels like I’m in Ghana, then Brazil, then Korea, Nigeria, Turkey, and so on. I feel truly blessed to be serving people from all nations, kindreds, and tongues. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

To close, I just want to say how much I love you all. I feel so grateful for every person who takes the time to read these thoughts. Knowing that there are people I love that care about my journey and my growth in Christ means the world to me. 

Some days, it would be nice to hear Rich say “Up Tonga,” or relate a workday to a scripture, or take a wild trip with the young men, or change Ebut’s oil for mutual. But I’m where God wants me. And I know this isn’t just what He permits—it’s what He prefers.

Love you all,
Elder Hixon

Isso é muito bom

This week was amazing! Started off pretty sad saying goodbye to everyone, leaving Kingston, and then some really great missionaries went home so it was a bummer. But then everything just shifted. Something just took hold of me and I know it was my Savior. I found opportunity and joy everywhere the entire way to my new home. I even got someone's number walking home! It was a blessed time. We went on the whole week just practicing more and more of that authentic discipleship. We tried having quality time with each person we talked to. Every time we prayed to leave the flat we didn't pray for a number of people to find but that we could have positive interactions with every single person we come across. Having that in mind has changed everything! Even when we are in a hurry to an appointment, making sure we are smiling at everyone and wishing them a good day is much better than what I was doing before. 

The work is still progressing miraculously and we hope our efforts are part of that. Is there any other better way for God's work to go forward than to love? No! Some interactions, even if my eyes see that the person will stop and talk to us are as short as:

Hi, how are you

Good and you

I'm doing amazing. Have a wonderful day!

Because while my eyes and brain are telling me I could stop this person and probably get their number sometimes the spirit very strongly has been prompting me to hold off. But that doesn't apply for every interaction. Lots of people have been very generous with wanting to learn more and so, as prompted by the spirit, we invite them to call later that day or the next.

Through this letter it might seem as though I am being hesitant in sharing the joy and what I know but that couldn't be further from the truth, by loving the people with all my heart I just do not need to use so many words, I'm finding that the spirit will testify on my behalf as I live what I learn and honestly show that joy which has been full these past 5 days! I had one really simple, but genuinely joyful, interaction this week!

Like I said my companion and I have been simply trying to be authentic and genuine in our discipleship. We try to make sure every single person we see has a positive experience with us and who we represent. So we tell people to keep having good days putting smiles on their faces and offering service. 2 days ago as we were walking home a kid in the distance yells "ELDER! HAVE A GOOD DAY!" I yell back "YOU AS WELL!" This kid was not a member of the church and I probably will not see him again but that interaction has taught me more of the truth about missionary work then anything else I've learned.

Now to finish we will talk about Brother Vargas. He is from Bolivia. He made some good food at our lunch appointment with him. It was the first time I had South American food in a long while and I explained "Isso é muito bom!" Hoping it translated to "This is very good!" I didn't realize how good it actually was about to get. He then testifies boldy and powerfully about everything I've learned this last transfer. About what the spirit has been telling me. It brought tears to my eyes knowing God truly is guiding me and there is nothing else I need to do right now than follow him, lower my head and eat. He IS the good shepherd. If you follow Him you will never be hungry, in danger, afraid, tired, thirsty, or have any need or want. So this transfer, I left my boxing equipment behind. I still train and still plan to pick it up when I get home, but I know that if I fervently follow Christ he will provide me with what I need when I need it. I don't need to search anywhere else than where the shepherd brought me, doing so is just silly. 

I love you all!

Elder Hixon

UNO!

The week started off super solid! I was given the opportunity of playing Uno and winning so that was pretty much a highlight.

But uno has a more sad meaning to this email. It means I only was able to spend 1 transfer in Kingston serving with Elder Park. For anyone who has kept up it might have been easy to see that this transfer has been a blessed part of my mission. Both companion and area were perfectly what I needed to continue to grow. The success and growth we saw was the biggest blessing. The success didn't come from where I had previously deemed success, which was in people baptized or cool people found or other things, however, RODNEY DID GET BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!! The success was in me being a more diligent missionary. Me better understanding and fulfilling my purpose. Our service hours spiked up and we visited some members who had not been to church in a long time.  I was able to make a genuine connection with the people I met here and that helped all of us come unto Christ. Elder Park and Elder Lewis have really helped me this transfer to get over myself and into the work of the Lord. It's not about my "success" in a quantity amount it's about serving the Lord and sharing the joy of the gospel. The hard thing is leaving. When you've really put your heart into an area it is the worst to just get up and leave. 

Now you know I'm leaving Kingston but to where??? EPSOM! it's about a 20 minute drive but they are in different stakes so it might as well be across the mission. My new companion is Elder Fenton. I have no clue who he is or what the new area will be like but it doesn't really matter. As I learned through a talk from Elder Bednar, the only person who cares about what's in it for me is the natural man. There is a lot more to talk about with that and in the mission but I will just leave it at that. 

2x this week we were able to help a single mom named Hanna with her backyard (garden in England) and it has changed my heart. All 4 elders have been helping twice a week but she was a lady Elder Park and I found while knocking doors looking for opportunities to serve. She is absolutely brilliant. It makes me so happy that she's so grateful. It doesn't look like she is interested in learning about our purpose as missionaries but that is not the intention for service. It is to show love and to serve God. To allow your heart to change and to become authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. Amulek teaches that if we turn away those who need help, even if we pray all the day long we would be hypocrites who deny the faith. 

This week in my personal studies three verses have stood out to me 

Alma 37: 36-37 and Alma 38:5 give them a read :)

Love you all

Elder Hixon